Face
by Cactus Bob
Summary: A mysterious creature is switching people's bodies. When Atem ends up in the body of an animal, he must find a way to convince Yugi who he is before the creature attacks him too.
1. Lost and Found

Atem grimaced as he looked at his watch. It was nine-thirty, much later than he had expected to linger at Tea's house. He hoped that Yugi wasn't worried, but he didn't have a cell phone to call Yugi and assure him of his safety. Atem thought about how he would feel if Yugi was gone until hours after sunset. He laughed shortly—he'd probably be ready to take someone's head off if that happened.

He stopped when he heard the sound of pathetic whining coming from behind him. Atem turned around and saw a large, hairy dog lying on the ground. From the way it was sprawled on the cold pavement, moaning pitifully, it looked like it had been injured.

Atem remembered a certain event in his past: He had been only twelve years old or so, going into the market with Mahaad to learn about economics and the art of buying and selling goods. He had seen an emaciated dog lying on the street in almost the same manner as the dog right in front of him, whining and moaning in pain. He had gone over to try to comfort it, but as soon as he touched the dog it had bitten him on the hand. It had taken weeks for it to heal, and he still had the scar on his resurrected body, even five-thousand years later.

"Sorry, but I learned my lesson the last time," Atem said to the hound. He turned to keep going when he heard the dog's whimpering cease suddenly. He turned around out of pure curiosity and felt a sharp stinging sensation on his ankle from where the dog had gotten up and bitten him. It was standing up now, perfectly healthy and looking menacing.

Atem felt suddenly feeble, although he hadn't suffered much blood loss. He collapsed onto the ground, his vision spinning. All of a sudden, he felt his body changing. With his dim sight, he saw the dog's form changing as well. Atem's clothing disappeared and fur grew all over his skin, while the dog's hide changed to human flesh. Atem's hands became clawed and padded and a tail grew out of the end of his spinal cord as the dog's tail receded and it stood up. Atem felt the shape of his face elongate into a snout, and the dog's face turned into Atem's face.

Finally, Atem lay on the ground in the shape of a beast, looking up at a black-and-white carbon copy of himself. He saw his impersonator smile and heard him laugh derisively. "How pathetic," the fake Atem said. "You couldn't show mercy to a poor, innocent animal." He gave a whimper just like the dog had done, and then he looked down at Atem mockingly. "Let's see what your life is like."

The imposter gave a swift, hard kick to the dog's head, and Atem saw only darkness.

* * *

"Atem's certainly been gone a long time," Yugi said to himself as he looked out the window. He had started to get anxious half an hour ago; now he was downright panicked. It was nearly eleven-thirty! "Grandpa, I'm going to look for Atem!" he yelled to the eldest Mutou, and he got his coat.

Yugi followed the interconnected sidewalks to Tea's house, thinking that if something had happened, it would have happened on those paths. Maybe he had just lingered because he had finally admitted his true feeling to Tea and they wanted to talk it out. Yeah, that was probably it.

Atem had found himself romantically interested in Tea for the past few months, but despite Yugi's cheerleading had not found the courage to tell Tea herself. Yugi thought it was a bit out of character for him, as Yugi had never known Atem to be fearful or timid about anything.

Then Yugi noticed a great, black mass in the middle of the walk, lying in the shadows of the streetlight. Upon closer inspection, Yugi observed that it was some sort of big dog. It was unconscious at the moment, but it was still a stray animal. Maybe he should avoid it; it could hurt him.

But no matter what his better judgment said, Yugi's heart was moved for the poor creature. He crept up to it and placed a gentle hand on its side. Its—or, now that Yugi looked, his—head was matted with blood. Yugi carefully pushed aside its hair and saw its wound.

Suddenly the dog's yellow eyes opened. Yugi crept back in fear. What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

Atem felt throbs of stabbing pain in his forehead. How did he get here? Where was here, exactly? After a few moments of befuddled thoughts, Atem remembered everything that had happened a couple of hours ago. The dog—the bite—the sudden transformation—seeing himself—it all rushed back at him in an instant.

He was a dog, and some strange creature was running around Domino with his form! What if he did something horrible and Atem was to blame? What if Atem never got his body back at all?

Then Atem noticed the warm hand pressed against his side and the slender fingers grazing his injury. Atem opened his eyes and saw a colorless Yugi looking fearfully at him. "Yugi…?" Atem tried to say, but all that came out was a soft bark. This seemed to distress Yugi even more, and the boy got up and inched back slowly.

Yugi couldn't leave; he was the only link Atem still had to the human world! Atem stood, tripping over his four legs, and looked up at Yugi. He kept trying desperately to find a way to communicate who he really was, but how could he when he couldn't speak, write a note, or even communicate telepathically?

* * *

Yugi watched the dog stand up and stumble as if it had drunk too much beer. Yugi took a step back and the dog followed him slowly. Yugi bit his lip, trying to find a way out of this situation. He shouldn't try to run away, because the dog would be too quick for him. He shouldn't try to fight it off, because the dog would be too strong for him. So only one idea came to mind.

"Sit, boy!" Yugi commanded. The dog hesitated for a moment, but then it obediently sat down on its haunches while staring at Yugi in a hauntingly desperate manner.

Maybe Atem couldn't convince Yugi that he was supposed to be human, but he could convince him that he was a faithful pet, one that would readily obey his master's wishes. Atem knew that Yugi had a soft spot for animals, especially ones that were weak or injured in some way, and this could be his ticket back into the house.

Yugi backed up even more, seemingly wanting to leave, but Atem gave a pitiful howl and flopped onto the ground in a heartbreaking gesture of helplessness. Yugi looked back at him, debate obvious in his face. Oddly enough, Atem noticed that he could smell Yugi's uncertainty.

At last, Yugi walked back to Atem's side—Atem gave a silent cheer—and scratched Atem behind the ears. Before he knew it, Atem felt a wave of bliss wash over him. The pain was gone, the worry was gone, everything was gone except for those blessed fingertips that were gently caressing the top of his head.

Then Atem realized with shame and horror that his tail was wagging. He glanced at Yugi, though, and noticed that he was smiling. Alright, so wagging the tail was a good thing. Yugi stood up and walked off. "Wait!" Atem said without even thinking, and it came out as a sharp bark.

Yugi turned around and pointed to the ground next to ground by his feet. "Come!" he said sharply. Atem was thoroughly relieved and picked himself off the ground once again, trotting along after Yugi while happily wagging his tail.


	2. Be a Good Boy

Hello! Just a few notes before we start. First of all I'd like to tell all of you that this is not as fluffy as you might assume. Just a warning!

Second of all, I still need to do the disclaimer! Yu-Gi-Oh © Kazuki Takahashi

* * *

Yugi poked his nose around the corner of the game shop and sneaked up the stairs. The stray dog he had brought home followed his every step, taking unusual care to be as quiet as he.

Grandpa would not be pleased to have a dog in the house, especially not one of this animal's size—its head was level with Yugi's waist. It was also hairy, dirty, and bloody. But it was well trained, wasn't it? It had obeyed Yugi's commands, only barked at Yugi out of desperation, and even seemed to be mimicking Yugi as he tried to maneuver into the bedroom unnoticed. Grandpa would be fine with it after a while.

The only question left was: what would Atem think? Yugi stopped suddenly, making the poor dog run into his backside. Atem was still missing! He was still out there somewhere, maybe in trouble! Yugi began to panic and berate himself for forgetting so easily. He needed to go back out there and find him, before something worse happened!

But when Yugi really thought about it… There had only been a block or so between where Yugi had seen the dog and where Tea's house was. If something had happened to Atem, Tea would have known and called Yugi up straightaway. They were probably just talking, having a _private moment,_ and they didn't want to interrupt that to call or anything. Meanwhile, the dog now looking confusedly at him had actually been hurt, and he deserved Yugi's full attention.

Yugi led the dog into his bedroom. "Sit!" he said. The dog sat down, now perfectly still. "Now… stay." For a minute, it looked like the dog had given Yugi a nod of understanding, but it must have just been a trick of the light.

Yugi crept over to the bathroom and looked over at Grandpa's room. The light was off, so Grandpa must have been asleep. Yugi sighed in relief and grabbed some antiseptic from the bathroom, along with a rag.

Returning to the dog, Yugi pouring some antiseptic onto the rag and gently pressed the piece of cloth onto his head. The dog gave a yelp and backed away, and Yugi hissed in frustration. He listened closely… Grandpa hadn't heard a thing. Yugi closed his hand around the dog's muzzle and pulled it close. "Quiet!" he whispered frantically. "I'm just trying to help, okay, and we can't wake my grandpa up."

Atem scolded himself for having cried out. That one act could have cost him the rest of his human life. He needed to keep a better check on his actions, but he hadn't had time to brace himself before that horrible stinging liquid had cut into him like a knife.

Yugi continued cleaning his wounds, and Atem kept silent. Yugi finished finally and put away the bottle and rag in a drawer. "I'm going to talk to Grandpa about you in the morning, after he's had his coffee," Yugi said softly, "so you're going to have to be good and stay in here."

Yugi quickly changed into his pajamas, and Atem averted his eyes, respecting Yugi's modesty. When Yugi had finished, he led Atem over to the side of his bed. "Lay down," he commanded, and Atem did as he was told. "Go to sleep, boy." And Atem did as he was told.

* * *

Yugi woke up the next morning and knew that it was late because of the intensity of the sun on his face. Worrying suddenly, he looked over the side of his bed and saw the dog lying there peacefully, resting his snout on his paws. Then, worrying again, he looked over to the other side of the room. Atem wasn't there, the bed was still made… Then again, Atem could have come home, gone to sleep, and woken up much earlier than Yugi.

Yugi stumbled out of bed, and, suppressing his urge to pee, went searching around the house. He found Grandpa in the kitchen—Yugi would talk to him about the dog later—but Atem was still nowhere to be found. Grandpa was worried too, and Yugi went to go call Tea to see what happened when someone opened their front door.

Yugi rushed down the stairs to see who it was and saw Atem. He was looking around at everything in the room as though it was the first time he had ever been in the house.

"Atem, you're okay!" Yugi exclaimed, and he threw himself on Atem's shoulders. Atem seemed a bit surprised, but he returned the hug. "What happened to you? Where were you last night?"

Atem stared at Yugi blankly for a few seconds. "I… I don't remember," he said at length. "Where… where did I go last night?"

"You went to Tea's house," Yugi answered. Atem didn't remember what had happened last night. Had something horrible happened, something that had given Atem some sort of amnesia? "You don't remember anything?"

"I… went to Tea's house," Atem repeated. "I don't remember any of that. I just remember finding myself outside of the door suddenly."

"What's the last thing before that that you can remember?" Yugi asked.

Atem shook his head. "I don't know… It's all blurred in my mind…"

"It's going to be fine, but come on, Grandpa's worried about you." Yugi pulled Atem by his wrist up into the kitchen. "Grandpa, Atem's home!" he exclaimed.

The old man sitting in a chair around the kitchen table looked up joyfully. "Atem, my boy, I'm glad you're safe," he said, hugging Atem around the waist in a very unmanly way.

"Me too… Grandpa," Atem replied. "But I'm here now, safe and sound, so I don't think we should be very concerned about what happened last night."

"What?" Yugi asked, astounded. "No one can just forget a whole night of their life and not be worried! Don't you want to find out what happened?"

"I never wanted to worry you, but this is something that's been happening to me occasionally for a while now," said Atem sadly. "I hope you'll forgive me for not telling you earlier."

"Do you think… that this is just a side effect of getting your own body?" Yugi wondered.

Atem hesitated, but he nodded. "Yes, but it was a small price to pay."

"Oh, well, I guess that we really shouldn't worry, then," Yugi said softly. "Next time something like this happens, though, tell me, okay?"

"Of course," Atem said. Then he sat down in one of the chairs and propped his feet up on the table. "Do we have anything to eat in this house? I'm starving."

"Feet off the table, boy," Grandpa said, getting up to fix breakfast. Atem shot him a look of resentment, but he lifted his feet from the eating area and flashed Yugi a quick smile.

Then Yugi remembered. Breakfast… the dog in his room was probably hungry by now. He'd have to tell them sooner or later, and now that Atem was safe and Grandpa was seemingly in a pleasant mood, it was a good opportunity.

"Grandpa?" Yugi asked tentatively. "How do you feel about pets?"

Grandpa groaned. "Not another injured stray, is it?" he asked, exasperated. "Yugi, you have to learn to let nature take its course."

"Yugi…" Atem muttered spontaneously under his breath.

"But he must be a good dog!" Yugi exclaimed. "He didn't have a collar or anything, but he's really well trained and sweet, too." Yugi saw Atem give a satisfied grin out of the corner of his eye, but he ignored it.

"Alright, alright, we can let him stay for now," Grandpa conceded, sighing. "But there are going to have to be some conditions to him staying with us."

"Thanks, Grandpa!" Yugi cheered.

"Yes, well, first of all, you're going to have to feed him out of your own allowance," Grandpa began. "He's going to have to be extremely well-trained and friendly. We will have to return him to his owners if we see _anything_ about a missing dog, and you're going to have to find a place to keep him during the day when you go back to school in the fall, because I have to run the shop."

"He can stay at Mrs. Katie's house; she loves dogs," Yugi answered. "And I told you he was well-trained already, and I'll feed him, I promise."

"Then let's see him," Grandpa said, and shook his head when Yugi dashed out of the room. The boy could be so immature for his age, but his compassion was seemingly limitless.

* * *

Atem waited patiently for Yugi's return. It's not like he had any other option—the bedroom door was closed and Atem wouldn't have disobeyed Yugi's orders if he could have. He needed to make a good impression.

He couldn't help wondering who had knocked on the door. None of their friends would have come over so early, considering that Yugi usually slept until noon during the summer. It might have been one of those flyer-people, though, or a neighbor that needed something.

A few minutes later, the door opened again and Yugi walked into the room. "Alright, boy, you're going to have to come with me. Be nice, okay?" Atem followed Yugi into the kitchen, where he instantly recognized himself sitting in a chair, grinning as though Christmas had come early.

Immediately Atem lowered into a crouch, growling dangerously at his imposter. Grandpa frowned and Atem felt a light slap on his nose. "Bad boy!" Yugi said. He chuckled nervously. "He wasn't mean to me, not at all, I promise. He's probably just… so protective of me that he sees you as threats, but he'll warm up to you. He's just like you, Atem, now that I think about it." Atem's impersonator smiled.

"Well, I suppose it's up to Atem," Grandpa said finally. "He'll be the one living in the room with you and that new pet of yours."

No! This was the last thing Atem wanted to happen. His fate was in the hands of the creature that had put him in this position in the first place. Now he'd never be able to talk to Yugi again, never be able to tell Tea how he felt about her…

Much to Atem's surprise, the imposter kneeled in front of Atem and began to pet his head. "Are you kidding? I love dogs. It's fine with me if you keep him, Yugi."

"Really? That's great! Thanks Atem!" Yugi said, jumping up and down with excitement. "I'll go get some old pillows to make him a bed in our room, okay?" Yugi dashed off to the basement, where the most smelly and mold-covered of the pillows resided.

The creature in Atem's body walked into the bedroom and made a small gesture with his hands, asking Atem to come with him. Atem followed him and sat down, staring at his own body with a look that clearly stated, "Why?"

"Isn't it so much more fun this way?" the creature asked, obviously amused. "I'm going to have a good time watching you struggle to tell Yugi who you really are while I'm the one he really loves. And all the while, you're going to have to be nice to me, or Grandpa won't let you stay in the house anymore. Yes, Atem, this is much more fun than just sending you out on the street, however humbling it may seem."

The creature leaned close to Atem's pointed ears, and Atem had to resist the urge to bite him. "Oh, forgive my lack of manners," he whispered mockingly. "My name is Jayne, and it's a pleasure doing business with you."


	3. Who Are You?

Hi, guys! Just a quick note: A.YamiYugi agreed to draw a picture of Atem in his dog form for me! A.YamiYugi is a _genius_, so check out the picture at (and please replace the –dot- with actual periods):

yugispiritbeast-dot-deviantart-dot-com/art/Atemu-from-Face-65278410

* * *

"Well, this is where you're going to sleep," Yugi said cheerfully, laying down a few pillows in the corner of the room. "But… I guess you need a name, don't you?"

Atem watched Yugi think and felt a bit forlorn. He couldn't even conceive of a way to tell Yugi who he was, especially when Atem's body was walking around and acting perfectly like him. He could be trapped in this form for the rest of his life, suspended between his animal body and his human mind. But there had to be _some _way of letting Yugi know… if he could only think of it.

"Um… how about… Cumulus?" Yugi asked. Atem whined—why couldn't Yugi give him something with dignity? "No? Okay, not Cumulus…. Maybe Shadow?" It was closer, but Yugi could sense that Atem didn't like it. "Then what do you think about Yami?" Atem barked aloud and wagged his tail. That was one step closer to telling Yugi who he really was!

"Yami it is, then," Yugi laughed, hugging his gigantic pet around its neck.

Then Jayne, wearing Atem's body, walked into the room carrying pancakes. "Time for breakfast," he said, waving the wafting aroma underneath Yugi's nose. Atem smelled it as clearly as if he had snuck his snout right into it, and he suddenly realized how hungry he was.

Yugi gave Atem one last pet and got up to leave. "I'll get you some food in a little bit, okay Yami?" he said, and then headed out into the kitchen. He left the door open this time, so Atem was able to get up and roam around the house. There had to be something here that would allow him to send his message.

He passed by the kitchen and, hearing Yugi laughing with Jayne, burned with envy. Yugi was _his _brother, _his _partner. How dare that copycat pretend to be him, taking away precious moments that _he_ was supposed to be spending with Yugi! What would be next?

Even after nearly half an hour of searching and pondering, Atem still hadn't thought of a way to talk to Yugi. This would take more time than he would have liked, and every day was bringing him closer to the start of school, when he would barely be able to spend any time with Yugi at all.

His new master Yugi came into his room with water and dog food, and Atem was hungry enough to eat even that. Once he tasted it, he realized that it wasn't so bad. Then he awkwardly lapped up water with his long tongue and continued to rack his brain for a solution to his problem.

Finally Atem returned to the bedroom and lay down on his simple bed. He tried to be content with being a dog, even a very pensive dog, for the rest of the evening. Yugi must have been spending a lot of time with Jayne, because he didn't return to the room until it was time to go to sleep.

Jayne and Yugi got into bed. "Goodnight, Atem. Goodnight, Yami," Yugi said, lying down. Atem saw and even smelled that Yugi was a little upset. Atem was even angrier at Jayne now that he had hurt Yugi in whatever way.

"Goodnight, Yugi. Goodnight, Yami," Jayne said and winked at Atem. Atem glowered at him as best as a dog could, and then he closed his eyes and tried to sleep and have a moment of peace.

* * *

Atem felt that something was wrong and woke up immediately. He had honed his sense of uneasiness ever since he was a child, and now he could pick up on it even in sleep. He looked around the room and sniffed the air, and then he got up to see what was going on in the house. He traveled from room to room until he noticed Yugi sitting in a cushy chair in the living room, looking out the window with a saddened expression.

Yugi looked at Atem. "Oh, I'm sorry boy, did I wake you up?" he asked quietly. Atem trotted over to Yugi's side and sat by his chair. He looked up at Yugi, who had turned back to the window again.

"I bet you're wondering why I'm up so late, huh?" Yugi asked, absently stroking Atem's head. "I… I'm worried about Atem," he admitted finally. "First that thing about his memory, and then everything else that happened today…. He's acting strange, Yami, different than I've ever seen him act before. And he doesn't seem to notice a thing is wrong."

Yugi turned to Atem and buried his face in Atem's fur. "I wanted to see if he was really himself, you know, so I asked him if he wanted any orange soda and he said yes!" Atem was pleased: Jayne had made a mistake. Atem had hated orange soda since the first day he had tasted it and was likely never to have it again.

Still, Atem never wanted to see Yugi so upset, so he did his best to comfort him by nuzzling his friend's face gently. Yugi laughed and sobbed simultaneously, not knowing what to think of this dog that knew how sad he was. "But right now, you're acting more like the Atem I know than he is," Yugi said sadly. "I just wish I knew how to tell him, or how to help him get better."

Yugi leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Soon he was fast asleep, curled up like a cat with his hand in Atem's fur. Normally, Atem would have just picked Yugi up and carried him back to his bed, as the boy was very light. But he couldn't do that now, so he just lay down on Yugi's feet, content to at least sleep near him.

* * *

"Hey… hey," Jayne said, nudging Yugi in the side to wake him up. Yugi cracked open his eyes and closed them again at the bright light of the morning sun. "What are you doing out here?"

"Sorry… I, well you know I have trouble sleeping," Yugi lied suddenly. "I guess I just sleepwalked out here again and fell back asleep."

"Same as usual, then," Jayne replied, and this made Yugi even more nervous.

"Atem?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't sleepwalk."

Jayne narrowed his eyes. "You could have fooled me," he said finally. "You've been traipsing all over the house at night for the last few weeks now. I thought you knew."

"Atem?"

"What?"

"You don't like orange soda."

Jayne paused and then laughed. "So, I guess you're sharper than I thought. Or has Atem been helping you?" Jayne had thrown Atem out into the hallway and shut the door on him a few moments earlier.

"Are you saying that you're not Atem?" Yugi asked. "Where is he?" he demanded.

"Ah, so you still haven't figured that one out. Well then, I don't think I'm going to tell you," Jayne said smugly. "Although you might get a better idea of where he is after I show you this." Jayne grabbed Yugi's shoulder and slammed him against the wall. Yugi squirmed, but he knew how strong Atem was. He'd never be able to overpower him.

"This body doesn't seem to be working very well for me. They never seem to fit just right, you know? I've tried every creature—snakes, bats, fish, _dogs_, but I just have to try a new one, always. I even tried a human for the first time, but this body isn't working out. Maybe you'll do better."

Jayne leaned forward and sunk Atem's teeth into Yugi's cheek. Yugi cried out in pain and felt weakness in all of his limbs. Jayne released him and he felt to the floor. Yugi felt himself begin to shift forms. His legs and torso were lengthening while the bones in his face adjusted. The very fabric of his clothing was rearranged right on his body, and suddenly he found himself in Atem's pajamas, looking up at himself.

Jayne flexed Yugi's fingers. "You're weaker than he was, and shorter, too," he said distastefully. "But it will have to do, for now. We'll see how you fit for a while." He walked out of the room, leaving the true Yugi lying on the floor. "Hey, Yami," he said to Atem, but he darted out of the house as soon as Atem's eager ears perked up to greet him.

Atem thought that this behavior was odd, especially since Yugi had gone through so much trouble to keep him. To almost completely ignore him like that… Something had to be wrong. Since that mongrel Jayne had thrown him out of the living room, he had to content himself with waiting outside while being oblivious to everything beyond the door. His senses had picked up something strange in the room, but he didn't have enough experience to know what it was

Atem walked into the living room and saw Jayne lying weakly on the floor, his eyes half-closed with exhaustion. "Yami…?" he asked, and pushed himself up onto his knees. "Atem… we have to…" Then he looked at his hands and his eyes widened.

Yugi noticed something very odd about his left hand. Atem's once told him a story about a certain scar he had gotten from a dog bite in Ancient Egypt. It was a long, jagged, pearly mark that traveled from his wrist to the knuckle of his index finger. Somehow, the exact same scar was on his left hand too.

He stood up and suddenly felt as though everything in the room had shrunk. Also, he was still wearing Atem's pajamas for some reason. Yami looked on in surprise as Yugi fled from the room into the bathroom and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He gasped at what he saw. He had taken on Atem's exact appearance. Everything was the same, down to the miniscule freckle just below Atem's right eye.

So the creature that had stolen Atem's body had stolen his, too! Now he was in Atem's body, so that meant that Atem had to be in the body of the person that the body-swapper had been in when the latter had met the former. Yugi racked his brain, trying to remember every last word that Jayne had said. If Atem was the first human the creature had inhabited, then he had to be in the form of some animal.

He sank down on the rim of the bathtub and held his head in his hands. He had no idea what to do, and he couldn't turn to Atem for advice. Then he heard the soft clicking of Yami's nails on the bathroom tiles. "Hey, Yami," Yugi greeted quietly. "I guess that nose of yours is pretty good for searching out people, but how about people's souls?"


	4. Strange Parts

Both Jayne and Yugi had been acting very differently. Atem followed Jayne into the bathroom, trying to find out what had happened. "Hey, Yami," Jayne said. "I guess that nose of yours is pretty good for searching out people, but how about people's souls?" Did Jayne have an even more sinister plan lying in wait, something that involved people's souls? "I'm looking for Atem, but I don't know where he is," Jayne continued sadly. Atem frowned as best a dog could. This didn't make any sense at all… unless…

"Atem's out there somewhere, and I'm stuck in his body!" this person in Atem's body exclaimed. Then Atem realized the truth—that had to be Yugi! Yugi was in the same position that he was in. "Do you have any idea how many animals live in Domino? How am I supposed to find him?" Yugi yelled. Atem barked. Yugi didn't understand, so he got up and began to pace. "He would probably be somewhere around here…" he thought aloud. "He wouldn't want to be too far from the Game Shop." Atem barked again. He was mentally begging Yugi to see that Atem was right in front of him.

But Yugi still didn't understand. He left the bathroom and went outside, Atem following him closely. Yugi looked around the entrance for a bird, insect, or anything that could hold Atem's spirit. "Atem?" he asked. "I know what happened. Please, show me where you are." Atem finally he had enough of playing games. He jumped on top of Yugi and put his front paws on Yugi's shoulders, pinning him to the ground. He leaned close to Yugi's face, which now looked just like his own.

Yugi looked at him, trying to connect the dots in his mind. Atem whimpered. Then Yugi's eyes widened. "Hey, you're Atem!" he exclaimed, and Atem barked out of relief and joy. He had gone through an entire day as a dog and that was enough for him. Yugi threw his arms around Atem's neck. "All this time and you've been right here! I'm such an idiot…"

"You're no idiot, Yugi, you figured it out!" Atem said, his words translating into a series of excited barks. Yugi smiled.

"But how are we going to set this right?" Yugi asked. "I have no idea what that thing is, much less how we're going to reverse what it did to us." Atem definitely knew how Yugi felt. Luckily for them, they had a team of people who specialized in paranormal affairs. Yugi seemed to read his thoughts and dashed back inside.

* * *

"So… you're Yugi," Joey said slowly, pointing to Atem's body. "And you're Atem," he said, pointing to the giant black dog who was sitting next to the couch. Atem barked, and Yugi nodded. "And someone's walking around in your body," he continued, pointing toward Yugi again, "but you don't know where you are?"

"Yes," Yugi said. Joey leaned back in his chair, taking it all in, and Tristan walked over to Atem.

"Dude, you totally have a tail," Tristan said, laughing.

Yugi giggled, which sounded particularly strange coming from Atem's throat. "I know, I love it, it's hilarious," he agreed. Atem growled and made sure that he kept his tail from swishing back and forth on the carpet. "Where's Tea? I don't really feel like explaining that whole thing again."

"She's on her way, man. She already told you that, right?" Tristan asked. "She's just taking her dear sweet time, that's all."

"I hope that's all," Yugi said. "But considering our luck lately… I don't know."

* * *

"Atem sounded weird on the phone," Tea mused as she crossed the street to go to Yugi's house. "He never talks like that. Maybe I said something wrong on Tuesday when he came over… I was too forward, I knew it. Women in his day were supposed to be all quiet and sensitive and everything and I couldn't pull it off!"

Tea mentally harangued herself. When Atem had stayed so long at her house, she was giving signals and dropping hints as though she'd be dead the next day. She had kept her true feelings to herself too long, and she had become desperate enough to disregard most of her tact. Atem wasn't interested in a relationship with a woman so forceful. He might not even be interested in a relationship at all. Tea had no idea, but it would just be rude to ask him outright, wouldn't it?

Then she saw Yugi walking down the street and ran up to him. Atem could wait a little bit while she talked to his brother. "Hey!" she said. "Where are you off to?"

"Oh, just taking a walk, getting some fresh air, you know," Yugi answered vaguely. "What about you?"

"Atem just called me over and wanted to talk to me about something. He sounded a little odd, though. Do you know what's up with him?" she asked. Certainly Atem would have confided in Yugi, of all people. They had been nearly inseparable even after Atem got his own body.

"Atem called you?" Yugi repeated. Tea nodded. "Hm…" Then, out of the blue, Yugi pushed Tea into the alley next to them.

"What was that for?" Tea asked, regaining her balance. She had never known Yugi to be rude or mean, not ever in his life.

"You're pretty," Yugi remarked. "I like that in a human."

"Yugi, this is insane," Tea said, brushing past him to go out to the sidewalk. She was feeling very threatened, and she wanted to be somewhere with a lot of witnesses. But before she could move past him, he grabbed her hand and bit her. "Yugi! Why are you…?" Tea suddenly felt tired and limp, and she collapsed onto the ground.

Yugi smiled. "Let's try you on for size."

* * *

"She's still not here!" Joey said angrily, stretching out on the couch. "What's taking her so long?"

"I don't know, Joey. Maybe she got into a conversation with someone," Yugi answered. He had kept his eyes firmly fixed on Atem's tail and was waiting for it to move again. Atem knew it, so he wasn't moving his tail an inch and thus suffering more ridicule.

"She bring her cell?" Tristan asked, throwing a hacky-sack into the air and catching it, as he had done for the last ten minutes.

Yugi shook his head. "I don't think so, since she would have only been out for a while."

Finally, someone knocked on the door. Everyone, even Atem, got up and walked down to the entrance to greet Tea and inform her that she was a total flake. But when Joey took it upon himself to open the door, Yugi—or rather, Yugi's body—was standing there.

Immediately, Joey and Tristan grabbed the fake Yugi's shoulders and slammed him into a wall. "Get your hands off of me!" Yugi's body exclaimed. "I swear, I really do need more female friends."

"Look, buddy, I don't know why you're goin' around swappin' our friends bodies, but it stops now, alright!" Joey yelled into the imposter's face.

Yugi's body looked at him curiously. "You mean… it happened to you guys too?"

Tristan and Joey released Yugi's body. "Wait a minute," the real Yugi said. "Who exactly are you?"

Yugi's body looked ashamed, and they noticed how strangely he was carrying himself. "Look, this is really embarrassing, alright, so don't laugh. I'm… I'm Tea." Joey, Tristan, and Yugi's jaws dropped.

"Tea… ya do know that you're a girl, right?" Joey asked. Tea glared at him, and it was a frightful expression on Yugi's face. "And ya know that Yugi's a boy, right?"

"I think that after all these years I'd be aware of that, Joey," Tea replied angrily, crossing Yugi's arms. "Say one word about this and I will punch you in the face, understand?" Yugi might not do anything of the sort, but Tea would definitely keep her promise. "Now, where's Yugi?"

Atem's body raised his hand. "Okay, then… where's Atem?" The dog that she had found so strange barked. "Then where's the dog?" she asked.

"I don't know," Yugi said thoughtfully. "This creature must have left a whole trail of displaced spirits. He said that he's been switching from one species to the next, trying to find the right fit, or something."

"Do you think this has something to do with those reports on the news about animals suddenly acting crazy, as if they were a completely different species?" Tea asked. "Like that frog that tried to fly, or the cat that drowned itself because it swam too far out to sea?"

"That's a good point," Yugi observed. "But what we really need to do is find Tea's body and get this creature to change us back to who we really are. No offense, Atem, but I really want my own body back." Atem barked in agreement. He really did too.

"Well, what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Tea asked. "I don't want to just sit here in Yugi's body for the rest of the summer!"

"Of course not. We'll be looking for you—well, your body—all over town, but I don't think we're going to find it in a day. You guys are just going to have to sit tight for a while," Tristan said.

"How long of a while!?" Tea asked frantically. She seemed to be freaking out more than either Yugi or Atem had, but that was easily explained by the fact that she had parts that she never wanted to have.

"I don't know, but we don't have anything that we have to do, right? So we'll be able to live like this for a while without arousing suspicions," Yugi said. "Don't worry, Tea, we'll make it right."

Tea nodded sadly. Then she looked at Atem. "By the way, Atem, your tail is really cute."


	5. Violated

"I like this, I really like this," Jayne thought as she walked down the street in Tea's form. "I don't think I've ever tried out a woman before." She had been doing this since before she could remember. She had traveled across continents, blazed through cities, and destroyed animal consciousnesses, all while trying to find something that she could fit in. Usually she hated humans, so she had avoided possessing them, but now that she tried it she found that it suited her quite nicely.

Jayne saw the entrance to a club and strutted up. It was a very exclusive place, and the bouncer was clearly turning down a lot of people. Jayne walked to his side and leaned over his shoulder. "Let me in here and I'll make it worth your while," she whispered. She delicately ran a finger over his large, muscular arms and winked at him.

"I think we can make an exception for you," he said, and let her in before everyone else in line, angering a lot of potential customers. "I'll see you in an hour, employee restroom." Jayne blew him a kiss and sat down at the bar, laughing to herself. She's be far gone by that time, and some other soul would have to pay that debt.

"Beer," she ordered the bartender.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I'll need to check your I.D." the bartender said.

She smiled sweetly. "Don't you think that the bouncer did that already, sweetie? There's a reason I'm in here."

"You look a little young to me. I.D., please," he said again.

Jayne frowned and left in a huff. She needed to find someone else, someone who had already met the age requirement. She spotted an attractive blonde flirting with a man in the corner. She wondered—the boy or the girl? Both would be above the age limit, but she found that she had a little more inclination to possess a female body now that she had tried one on.

Jayne waited until the woman excused herself to the ladies' room and snuck in after her. "Nice place, isn't it?" Jayne asked her. The woman looked at Jayne as though she was nothing but old gum on the bottom of her designer shoes. "You look nice, too."

"Look, if you're trying to flirt with me or something, I already have a boyfriend, so-" Jayne grabbed the woman and pushed her into a stall and went into it after her, latching the door behind her when she entered.

"Darling, I've found a way to get inside you without flirting first," Jayne said, smiling sickly. She leaned over and bit the woman on the neck.

"You… you gave me a hickey!" the woman exclaimed, before the usual momentary paralysis set in and she felt limp to the ground.

Jayne felt her new body forming around her, and then she looked in the mirror and fixed her mussed hair. "By the way, darling, you're wanted in the employee restroom in an hour or so." She exited the bathroom and made her way back to the bar, but the man her body had been flirting with earlier stopped her. "Listen," she said harshly, "you're not the man for me, got it? You just didn't perform the way I wanted you to."

She sat down at the table without looking back and stared the bartender in the eye. "Beer," she asked again. Without hesitation he handed it to her, and she took a long draught from it. This was going to be a fun night.

* * *

"Come on, Atem, hurry up! There are innocent lives at stake here!" Joey said. Atem growled at him and kept trying to follow Tea's scent. He was a dog, after all, and dogs could track people with the proper training. Luckily for them, Atem didn't need any training. But that didn't mean that he wasn't going to have difficulty following someone by scent alone for the first time, though, and Joey definitely wasn't helping.

Atem set off down the road where Jayne had switched bodies with Tea and followed it down the street, yanking Yugi along with him. Unfortunately for Atem, leashes were mandatory by city law in Domino, so he had to be fitted with the collar and leash that belonged to Joey's old dog. Even more unfortunately for Atem, the collar was thoroughly infested with fleas (and so was he, now), so he had to stop every few feet to scratch.

Finally, Atem stopped right in front of the club Ménage, an exclusive bar known for opening unusually early. "Are you crazy?" Tea asked. "They would never let me in there."

"For all we know, Jayne just possessed the club manager or something," Yugi said. "Who knows where or who that thing is now."

Suddenly, they saw a woman in Tea's body stumbling out of the bar, weeping violently and wearing torn clothes. Yugi ran up to her. "Hey, who are you?" he asked. She looked at him fearfully. "What's your name, I mean?"

"M-my name's Page," she stammered.

Joey held her by the shoulders and she yelped. "Listen, whoever you are, we know that's not your body, alright?"

"H-how do you know that? What happened to me?" she sobbed.

"Something that's been happening to all of us," Yugi said. "Page, what happened to your clothes?"

"The bouncer… He-he found me and he c-called me a lying bitch and he dragged me into the employee's restroom… He-he-h-he…" She couldn't finish her sentence, but everyone could guess what had happened.

"Oh, no…" Tristan whispered.

"Page, I'm really sorry, I am, but we need your help if we want to set this right," Yugi said soothingly. "We need to stop the thing that did this to you before it hurts more people." She nodded. "Can you tell me if you see yourself anywhere?"

Page looked around for a moment and then stopped. "Th-that's me, right over there!" she said, pointing to a pretty blonde woman who was swaggering drunkenly down the sidewalk, her arm around the neck of a man.

"That has to be her! No one who's not in their own body would just go on dating like that!" Joey yelled. The gang chased after Jayne and grabbed her forcefully, pinning her to the wall and keeping her mouth shut.

"You think you can just get away with taking peoples' bodies like this?" Tea asked angrily. "Whoever you are, you need to go back to wherever you came from and leave us alone!"

"She always bit us whenever we transformed, so I guess we have to get her to bite us now, except in reverse," Yugi realized. Jayne screamed and struggled, but none of them were going to let her move anywhere.

"You people are nuts," the man who was with Jayne said, and walked off into the street without even worrying about Jayne in the least.

"Page, come over here!" Tea said, and Page crept fearfully forward. "Alright, this is going to sound really weird, but I need you to stick your hand in her mouth, okay?" Page nodded and put her fingers into her body's mouth, which Joey and Tristan had forcefully opened. Then they clamped it down and Page squeaked with pain. A few moments later Page was in the body she belonged in, and she ran off down the street without looking back.

One by one, everyone was returned to their proper shape. Finally Tristan tied a strip of his shirt tightly around Atem's snout so that no one in that form would be able to bite anyone. Then they forced Jayne to bite the dog that she had been in the beginning, and Atem was finally in his own shape.

"It's not that bad, Jayne, really. But the fleas with drive you mad," Atem said, smirking at the now helpless creature that had caused everyone so much pain.

"What are we going to do with him?" Tea asked, grateful to be in the body of a woman again.

"Guys?" Yugi said. "I have an idea."

* * *

"So this is your dog, Mr. Mutou?" the veterinarian asked Yugi.

"Yes, sir," Yugi responded.

"And you said that you wanted to have all of his teeth removed?" the doctor asked incredulously. "That's a very unorthodox procedure. I hope you understand that he'll have trouble eating and that this could even be considered torture in some circles."

"Whatever it costs, doctor, we'll pay it," Yugi said firmly.

"And believe me when I say that if you don't do it, we will," Atem said, and he smiled darkly.

"Ah, yes, well, I think that it can be arranged," the doctor mumbled, feeling a bit uneasy, and led Jayne to where she could not do any more harm again.


	6. Consequences

The obligatory epilogue commences! But first, some well-deserved thanks:

Thanks to Deviousdragon, Sennen13, A.YamiYugi, dragonlady222, Arion Girl, Masami Mistress of Fire, and Shamise for reviewing!

Thanks to A.YamiYugi, Arion Girl, Deviousdragon, Dragonelf 8 The World Drifter, and Sennen13 for favoriting!

Thanks to A.YamiYugi, Arion Girl, Deviousdragon, Masami Mistress of Fire, Panguins-in-American-oh-my, Sennen13, Shamise, funkyfriends, and yugiyami luver 1669 for alerting!

Much, much thanks to A.YamiYugi for her absolutely adorable drawing of doggy Atem!

And thanks to everyone who's read my work!

* * *

After the vet had finished with Jayne's operation, Yugi officially tore up Jayne's medical records and dropped her off at the pound, calling her a stray that they had met on the street. They took her, noting that they'd have to feed her soft dog food.

"I'm glad you didn't do that to me, Yugi," Atem said as he and Yugi walked back home after a very interesting day. "If it hadn't been for you and your love of strays, we might have never returned to our original forms."

"You were a good dog, though," said Yugi.

Atem laughed. "Thanks."

"I'm serious," Yugi insisted. "You were great. You should have gotten a job as a… a part-time dog or something. You'd make lots of money and, you know, free food."

"I believe that is called lycanthropy, Yugi," Atem said. "And personally, I don't think that the free food would have been worth you all making fun of my tail all the time."

"But your tail was cute! And I really liked your ears, with the way they would always lie down on your head when you slept, that was…" Yugi noticed the look Atem was giving him and stopped. "It must have been really hard, though, considering you were the first one it happened to… with no way of talking to us or telling us who you were…"

"It was… frightening," Atem admitted, "to wonder if I'd ever be able to have a conversation with you or brush your bangs out of your eyes again. And it was even harder to watch Jayne—uh, that was the creature's name—to watch Jayne try and fool you into thinking she was me."

"She got a lot of things wrong, though. Anybody would have noticed that something was different," Yugi said.

"No, they wouldn't have," said Atem. "I'm proud to have someone like you by my side, Yugi, someone who will remember that I don't like orange soda and will take me in off the street, human or not."

"You'd do the same thing for me, right?"

"Absolutely."

* * *

A week later, the gang had come over for a horror movie marathon. In the interim between movies, Tea pulled Atem aside into the kitchen for a moment, asking to speak to him where no one else could hear.

"Uh… you wanted to talk to me about something privately?" Atem asked Tea as they walked into the kitchen to be away from the prying eyes of their friends.

"Yes, well, actually I do," Tea said. "It's about the other night, you know, the night when you first turned into a dog?"

"Last Tuesday," Atem remembered. "When I went over to your house for the evening."

"When… when we were spending time together, did you… How am I going to say this?"

"Just say it, Tea, whatever it is," Atem assured. "Friends are honest with each other. Think of Joey."

Tea laughed. "Well, okay… When we were spending time together, did you think that I was a little bit… forward or something?"

"Forward? Romantically?" he asked. He felt a lump of trepidation in his stomach, and he couldn't imagine that anything good was going to come out of this situation. "Well… I don't really think so, I didn't even notice-"

"Really? Good, good," Tea said. "Because I didn't mean to… What I'm saying is that when I looked back I kind of noticed that I had said some strange stuff, that's all, you see."

"Right, I understand," Atem said. "Well, maybe…"

"Actually, I need to go," Tea said, looking at her watch. "Um… I'll see you later, okay?" Atem nodded. Almost immediately after she left, Joey, Tristan, and Yugi came bursting into the room.

"Dude, you totally blew it!" Tristan yelled. "That was your moment; that was your chance!"

"What do you mean? She didn't seem like she was very interested in me. After all, she was worried that she had been inappropriate with me and wanted to clarify…"

"Atem, look at Yug' here for a minute," Joey advised, putting his arm around Yugi's shoulders. "He and Tea have been friends since kindergarten. Do ya know how many times _a day _they're inappropriate wit' each other and never even notice?"

"Joe, what are you talking about?" Yugi asked curiously.

"See, there ya go," Joey continued. "The very fact that she's thinkin' about whether she was inappropriate was either because she's totally into ya and doesn't know, or she's totally into ya and thinks you don't know. Capisce?"

"Wait… Are you saying…?"

"She digs you, man, go for it!" Tristan cheered, and practically shoved Atem out the door to go chase after her.

Yugi turned to Joey. "Joey, do you think we'll ever get girlfriends?" he asked.

"Speak for yourself, Yug', I got loads of girls linin' up ta get a piece o' da Godfatha o' Games," Joey boasted.

"You do know that's just because you block the line at the cafeteria, right?" Tristan mocked.

Joey growled at Tristan and spun around. "I bet ya just wish ya coulda swapped bodies with me," he said. "Woulda made ya a lot more appealin' ta da ladies."

"Say what?" Tristan asked incredulously. "The only reason I don't have girls all over me right now is because I want to stay faithful to your sister. Are ya happy?"

"Serenity could do way better than you!" Joey yelled, but his heart wasn't really in the statement. He knew that Tristan was a nice guy.

"I just hope they work out alright," Yugi mused. "Especially after what happened to Tea's body."

"Oh yeah… that's right." Tristan remembered what Page had said when they first met. Tea's body had been violated, and she had lost her virginity while she was in the form of someone else. Then a horrible thought struck Tristan. "Dude, what if she's pregnant?" he asked, horrified.

"Oh no, she wasn't late this month," Yugi said idly.

Joey turned to Tristan. "D'ya see what I mean by inappropriate?"

* * *

A/N – What happened with Atem and Tea is left up to everyone's vivid imaginations. Thanks for reading!


End file.
